There’s one item some parents are looking for this back-to-school season, but it’s unlikely to be on any school-provided supply lists or stocked in the school supplies aisles at mainstream retailers. Following the Uvalde, Texas school shooting in May, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed, consumer interest in bulletproof backpacks or backpack inserts has skyrocketed.
A recent survey of 582 parents from Finance Buzz, which offers financial advice, found that 28% are considering buying a bulletproof backpack for their schoolchildren, 16% already purchased one or were planning to do so, 21% were not considering buying one and 35% didn't know they existed.
“It’s exponentially much busier this year—after Uvalde, it was like a slot machine the orders came in so fast,” said Carrie Gaines, who founded St. Augustine, Florida-based bulletproof insert seller A Safe Pack four years ago. She said sales have increased at least by a double-digit percentage compared with last year. “The other interesting part is I’m getting orders from all over the entire country—it doesn’t seem like it’s isolated to one area.”